Post Cards: Performing Turtle Island by Anne Smith
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Post Cards: Performing Turtle Island by Anne Smith 1 October 2015 PSi#21 Fluid States – Canada: Performing Turtle Island The Performing Turtle Island Conference was held September 17, 18, 19, 2015, conjointly at the University of Regina and the First Nations University of Canada, on adjoining campuses in Regina, Canada, located on Treaty Four land, of the Starblanket First Nation. The name, “Turtle Island”, referring to North America, comes from the Iroquois Creation Story; Sky Woman falls to the ocean and the animals work together to make a place for her on the back of Turtle. This story is shared by many Aboriginal peoples from the east coast woodlands of North America. It is now a commonly used term by Aboriginal peoples across North America. The conference has brought together Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal artists and researchers who are exploring how idigeneity has been performed over the past four or so decades, how indigenous artists are expressing themselves now, at the beginning of the 21st Century, and how indigeneity will be performed in the coming decades. Where does Indigenous identity and community fit in to the construction of the country’s identity? Indeed, what do we mean by Indigenous identity, and, given the proliferation of newcomers, what do we mean by Canadian identity? In the face of growing international mobility and a radically changing Canadian demographic, it is important to take another look at how identity is constructed on Turtle Island within the ideational borders that designate Canada. While we are concerned with traditional performance, we aim our focus more on contemporary forms that express Indigenous identities across diverse cultural and social contexts. In this way, we hope to engage Indigenous theatre and performing arts through a multidisciplinary perspective that helps promote Indigenous cultures as valuable sources of knowledge and identity inclusiveness. Performing Turtle Island Website The art forms brought to the conference focus on theatre and written arts, visual and performance art, music, dance, film and video. Indigenous performance is very often interdisciplinary and mixes traditional forms with contemporary forms. Video footage of the many live presentations and links to the films and videos will be made available to the Fluid States website. Earlier this year, two theatre artists who have had a great influence in the Aboriginal community in Saskatchewan and Alberta, were tragically killed in a car accident. The conference was dedicated to Michelle Sereda and Lacy Morin-Desjarlais. Throughout the conference, many references to these women were made by local artists and the university community. The collaborative nature of the conference, in its conception and realization, made for a rich tapestry of provocation from and for the artists and researchers who presented. There is an awareness of the history of indigenous art and performance in Canada and that the its progress has been a long struggle both for support in the Aboriginal community from its political leadership and within the larger arts community in terms of funding, access, and visibility. The practice of all art forms may be seen as “medicine” in bringing forth the creative spirit and healing from the legacy of the residential schools. The removal of Aboriginal children from their families and incarceration in institutions – schools and TB hospitals - sometimes over four generations has had enormous impact on individuals, families and communities. There is also a tension between the colonial practice of elevating art and the Aboriginal practice of rooting art in community. The strength of Aboriginal artists comes from their connection to the land and to their peoples. As local correspondent, I am sending postcards of the events of the conference, with photos and short video excerpts. Annie Smith Theatre Artist and Researcher Postcard: A Windigo Tale, feature film by Armand Ruffo Video capture by Annie Smith. Actors: Elliot Simon and Gary Farmer Fifth Parallel Gallery: Film Screening, Curated by Dianne Ouellette, September 17, 2015 A Windigo Tale is a dark story of the legacy of residential school and the secrets held within a family. A young woman unwillingly returns to her reserve from the big city to help her mother banish the windigo spirit of her father. The film is graphic and unsettling though the ending is hopeful as the community comes together to discuss how they move forward from the past. The story is interspersed with scenes between a grandfather and his grandson as they journey home; the grandfather explaining what has happened to help his grandson understand his place in his community. The dark energy of the scene of sexual abuse was so unsettling. I was glad to get outdoors into the beautiful sunshine and walk to the PowWow at First Nations University. I was able to work of the pall of distress by dancing. Post Card: Land of Oil and Water, Documentary Film by Warren Cariou Warren Cariou. Photo by Annie Smith Fifth Parallel Gallery: Film Screening, Curated by Dianne Ouellette, September 17, 2015 Cariou’s documentary film begins in his home community of Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, where the people of Buffalo Narrows have signed an agreement to allow oil and gas exploration on their land. Cariou visits residents in Fort McKay, Fort Chipewyan, Meadow Lake, Buffalo Narrows, and Lac La Roche to get a picture of what this may mean for the community at Buffalo Narrows. The vision is conflicted between the chilling shots of the land devastated around Fort McMurray and the hope of the young people to have livelihoods that will give them a competitive future in the larger economy of Canada. For me, the saddest impacts of the tar sands are the eradication of a way of life that depended on harvesting from the land; the forest is empty of game and the fish are toxic. The scariest impacts are the rise in cancer and the over use and toxification of fragile water resources. The film has been screened at film festivals and is distributed through the Winnipeg Film Group: www.landofoil.com. Postcard: Grand Entry at the 2nd Annual Tony Cote Welcome Back Pow Wow Photo by Annie Smith The Welcome Back Pow Wow is hosted by First Nations University to welcome their students and to honor Tony Cote, a Canadian Veteran who has been a pivotal supporter of the University and of the students for many years. The Grande Entry was made to the music of Charging Bear, a Regina Drum group. Pow Wow announcer, Mike Pinot, kept everyone entertained while waiting for the Grande Entry folks to line up. The line up included dignitaries from First Nations University, Canadian Veterans, the RCMP, Student Council Officers and Royalty, and participants of the Performing Turtle Island Conference. Postcard: Welcome Address by First Nations University of Canada Princess, Wynona Pratt Wynona Pratt, as a representative of the student body, gave many acknowledgements to the people who made the Pow Wow possible. She followed the protocols of acknowledgements and is an example of the leadership of the youth at First Nations University. Photo by Annie Smith Postcard: Beaded Rope Artifact Kahente Horn-Miller shows students how to bead the rope in the Student Lounge at First Nations University. Video by Annie Smith. This beaded rope was added to over the course of the gathering. Beading is a traditional Aboriginal art in Canada. The wild rose is emblematic of the Metis people and is often beaded onto moccasins, vests, jewelry, and jackets. I wish there had been a chance to do this myself as I have wanted to learn to bead, but there just wasn’t time. Having a physical link between conferences as well as the virtual is an important legacy. The rope will travel from Regina to the conference in New Zealand with Dione Joseph, our foreign correspondent for Performing Turtle Island. Close up of Kahente Horn-Miller beading the rope. Photo: Annie Smith. Postcard: Playwrights Panel with Daniel David Moses and Yvette Nolan. Moderated by Mary Blackstone, University of Regina. Daniel David Moses. Photo: Annie Smith. Yvette Nolan. Photo: Annie Smith. Daniel Moses read two excerpts, the first from his first play, Coyote City. Johnny, who doesn’t know he is dead, begins his opening monologue with the line: “Give me a drink.” He is an engaging character for all his maundering and Daniel’s reading had us all laughing and groaning. Johnny is the quintessential drunk. The second reading is from the play he is working on now, “Crazy Dave”. This story, set between the World Wars, is taken from a book by the late Basil Johnson. The main characters are Dave, a man with Downs Syndrome, and his Grandmother. The scene Daniel read is the story of the Star Man, discovered by two young boys at the summer gathering place. Hearing Daniel read from his work opened my understanding of how much a playwright needs to love his characters. They came to life in his mouth. Yvette Nolan read from her book, Medicine Shows. Yvette has taken her title from two of Daniel’s early plays. She read from the introduction and from the last chapter, “The Eight Fire”, which is her extension of the prophecy of the Seven Fires, or the Seven Generations that Aboriginal people will suffer at the hands of European colonizers. The Eight Generation is now, when Indigenous and Settler peoples need to work together to bring peace to the planet. The core of the book comes from Joseph Boyden: “all acts are medicine.” Nolan understands that theatre is ceremony and that her book, describing thirty years of Aboriginal Theatre in Canada, is offered as a Medicine Bundle. In the Q & A after the presentation, Mary Blackstone raised the question of who has the right to speak and act for whom, referring to the controversy around the Toronto production of Nolan’s play, The Unplugging, where an Aboriginal character was played by a non-Aboriginal actor.